THE fight against the transatlantic business deal TTIP will today be taken to the heart of the Scottish Government when campaigners present a petition urging ministers to reject the treaty outright.

Twenty-one grassroots organisations have signed up to the Scotland Against TTIP coalition which wants the European Commission to pull out of negotiations with the United States and abandon the deal.

Today they are handing in the document to Fiona Hyslop, the Minister for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, calling on her and her cabinet colleagues to take a tougher line on the treaty.

To date the Scottish Government has rejected elements of TTIP – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – including risks it presents to the NHS in terms of forcing it to be open to privatisation as well as to the treaty’s proposals for corporate courts enabling large corporations to can take legal action against governments.

However, unlike the Greens and Scottish Labour, which passed a motion at its autumn conference last month rejecting the treaty, the SNP and the Scottish Government have yet to come out wholly against it

“TTIP threatens the Scottish Government’s ability to take decisions in the interests of the public and the environment without fear of getting sued by US multinational companies,” said Liz Murray, head of Global Justice Now, a Scottish organisation campaigning.

“TTIP is more than just a trade deal, it is a handover of power to corporations on a scale not seen before – and the strength of public opinion against TTIP is growing, almost daily it seems.”

She added: “While Nicola Sturgeon, and others in the Scottish Government and the SNP, have highlighted their concerns about parts of TTIP, they have stopped short of opposing this controversial trade deal in its entirety. We believe it’s time for them to listen to public opinion and to oppose TTIP outright.”

In September, all 56 SNP MPs signed a Commons’ motion raising major concerns about the corporate courts element of the treaty, while last month Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison called on David Cameron to prevent the deal from going ahead if he could not deliver a “cast iron” guarantee the NHS would be “fully and explicitly” exempt from it.

Six Scottish councils have also passed motions against TTIP in the last month, while 3.2 million people across Europe have signed a petition against TTIP in the last year.

While Hyslop is not involved in the multi-national negotiation the campaigners hope that if the Scottish Government rejected the treaty outright this view would have to have an influence on the views being put forward at the negotiating table by the Westminster Trade Minister Lord Maude of Horsham.

The 21 organisations which have joined Scotland Against TTIP include the STUC, Unison, Unite, 38 Degrees, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Radical Independence Campaign and Women for Independence.

The European Commission, which is leading the negotiations, estimates the TTIP deal could boost the size of the EU economy by £85bn by removing trade barriers with the United States.

Supporters also argue it will lead to consumers enjoying cheaper products and services as tariff barriers are cut to zero.

However, opponents say the main beneficiaries will be American corporations, while workers’ rights, environmental and food safety regulations and small businesses would be eroded in order to boost the interests of big business and cut their costs.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government has made it very clear that, whatever the economic impacts, TTIP must not adversely affect the delivery of public services. In particular it must not be allowed to threaten the core principle of our NHS as a public service free at the point of delivery, to lower standards, or to limit the government’s right to regulate in the public interest without fear of being sued by private corporations.”

Letters to The National, December 8: Government must say no to toxic trade deals like TTIP